PPP snubs judiciary and declares war on opponents

Moreover, the Samak nomination sends the message that the People Power Party is declaring war against its opponents, mainly the protesters who have been occupying Government House. Its tough stance is likely to escalate political tensions or invite further physical clashes, with the state of emergency hovering over Bangkok.

A call from London came ahead of the People Power Party's meeting. Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was calling to make his preference known as to who should be prime minister, according to People Power Party deputy spokesman Suthin Klangsaeng. He added that the party would heed the advice from London as that of a concerned citizen but that it would opt for a free vote on the nomination.

Thaksin is still the man of the hour, trying to shape the course of Thai politics the way he would like it to be. His supporters are going around spreading messages in an effort to undermine the credibility of the judiciary. On Wednesday, about 500 members of the pro-government Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship in Udon Thani burnt effigies of the nine judges on the Constitution Court in protest of their unanimous verdict against Samak.

This goes in line with Thaksin's claims of unfair treatment at the hands of the judiciary when he jumped bail last month to seek exile in London. A series of court decisions have gone against him and his family, including the one that dissolved his Thai Rak Thai party in 2007.

With the impasse in the executive branch and Parliament, the judiciary has been handing down a series of landmark verdicts that help to ease the political bottleneck. Some analysts say that the political turmoil in Thailand and the undermining of the judiciary would help justify Thaksin's application for asylum status with British authorities.

Academics, law lecturers and local business leaders have mostly come out to urge Samak to turn down the nomination for the second term. This would help defuse the political crisis and pave the way for a compromise. The political stalemate has caused the private sector billions of baht in damage and lost opportunities.

The Constitution Court disqualified Samak as prime minister because he violated the charter by taking money from, and altering documents relating to, his television cooking show. But the Court did not spell out whether Samak could return to the same job again once he left office.

By a moral standard, Samak should not become prime minister, at least not under the current four-year term of Parliament. If he were to assume the premiership again, he and the Parliament that voted him in would have undermined the credibility of the judiciary and the country's rule of law.

Noted economist Dr Ammar Siamwalla also said that if Parliament were to vote Samak back in as prime minister, it would be deemed an "inconsiderate Parliament". Technically, Parliament can vote Samak back into power, but by any moral standard, the move would be branded inconsiderate.

Samak signalled yesterday that he would accept the reappointment. Parliament will convene this morning to vote on the issue.

The government's coalition partners are caught in a dilemma. Both Banharn Silapa-archa of Chart Thai and Snoh Thienthong of Pracharaj have indicated that they would like to join the coalition government, but they don't want Samak at the helm.

Will Samak go so far as to accept the nomination? He still has time and can deny the offer in Parliament. Don't forget that he still has a defamation case at the Appeals Court waiting for him on September 25. From the way things are developing, we are moving toward a crash course because the deep-seeded conflict can't be resolved without some physical casualties.